Bathinda, June 26
Thirty per cent of trees have been auctioned for the four-laning of the Bathinda-Zirakpur highway. The auctioned trees are being axed for which work has already started from the marble market in Bhucho Mandi area. Trees till near Lehra Bega village in Rampura Phul have already been felled.

The divisional manager, Punjab State Forest Development Corporation (PSFDC), Daljit Singh, said the work on axing the auctioned trees have begun. The rest of the work would be done after the panchayat elections, he added.

The PSFDC commenced auctioning and axing of trees after the Forest Department, Punjab, transferred these trees in the name of the corporation.

“As soon as the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) gives environmental clearance to a project, the Forest Department transfers trees to the PSFDC. The Forest Department does not take responsibility of axing trees. We simply identify the trees and transfer them in the name of the PSFDC. The corporation auctions, axes down the green canopies and pay the amount to us as royalty,” said officials of the Forest Division, preferring not to be named.

While the Central government has terminated the contract awarded to two private companies for executing the Rs 2500-crore project of four-laning the Bathinda-Zirakpur highway, the PSFDC is working at its own pace and clearing the ground before the project starts taking shape.

Residents of Lehra Bega said many trees being axed were more than 45 years old.

“We have no option but to live with the fact that our green lungs are being choked,” said Ranjit Singh, a resident of Bhucho Mandi area.

Besides voluminous canopies of neem, the highway is dotted with kikkar, ailanthus, sheesham and other miscellaneous trees, which will be felled.

The road is being widened to remove traffic bottlenecks at Rampura Phul, Barnala, Sangrur, Patiala, Banur, Rajpura and other places enroute.

Fact file The road is being widened to remove traffic bottlenecks at Rampura Phul, Barnala, Sangrur, Patiala, Banur, Rajpura and other places enroute. Besides voluminous canopies of neem, the highway is dotted with kikkar, ailanthus, sheesham and other miscellaneous trees, which will be felled. Residents of Lehra Bega said many trees being axed were more than 45 years old.

Bathinda, June 26
The Staff Welfare Association of the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) today condemned the attack on IAS officer Kahan Singh Pannu by some miscreants in Uttarakhand.

In a press statement issued here, the president of the association, Sadhu Ram Kusla, stated that since Pannu did not head the department of tourism and disaster management, sending him to Uttarakhand for relief work was questionable.

“It seems that some people conspired against Pannu as he had highlighted the book scam in the education department and he had cooperated with the inquiry team sent by the Government of India. The video of the incident was made with a high quality camera and was immediately uploaded on social sites indicating that it was a preplanned event and the attackers belonged to Bathinda district,” he said.

The association also appreciated the Punjab Chief Minister's statement which condemned the incident and pointed out that there was a conspiracy behind the episode, in which some politicians were involved.

Association members demanded immediate judicial inquiry into the incident and action against the security guard deputed with Pannu. They said if the judicial inquiry was not marked, they would approach the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

The statement said the employees of the DRDA and zila parishad, Bathinda, would give one day's salary for the Prime Minister's Relief Fund for the victims of Uttrakhand.

Bathinda, June 26
Officials of the Revenue Department, ministerial staff, kanungos and patwaris have decided to donate their one-day salary to the relief fund set up for the victims of flash floods in Uttarakhand.

A meeting in this context was held here today wherein tehsildars Avtar Singh, Kuldeep Singh and Gurmail Singh, naib tehsildar Subhash Mittal, the president of DC Office Ministerial Services Union Harbans Lal Khichi, the president of Kanungo Association Surinder Singh Sidhu, the president of Revenue Patwari Union Gurtej Singh and others took part. The gathering extended heart-felt condolences to the bereaved families of the victims.

Deputy Commissioner Kamal Kishore Yadav said the bank draft of the donated salary would be sent to the Uttarakhand Relief Fund.

Bathinda, June 26
The outstanding payments of the hotel owners for extending hospitality to guests during the third edition of the World Kabaddi Cup were cleared today, after a period of seven months.

Bills amounting to Rs 81 lakh were outstanding.

The president of the Hotels, Restaurants and Resorts Association Satish Arora said the payments were pending since long. The association members kept on pursuing the matter and met officials of the Sports Department as well as the state government in this regard. The hotel owners also met Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and MLA Sarup Chand Singla, but all they had been getting were assurances. They said Deputy Commissioner Kamal Kishore Yadav played a vital role in getting their dues cleared.

Earlier, the members of the association had to hold a dharna to get their dues paid.

Bathinda, June 26
The district administration has directed industrialists, traders and farmers to not employ people without getting their personal details and antecedents registered at their nearest police stations.

In a press statement issued here, Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Rajiv Prashar said any person deployed for domestic or industrial chores should be asked to provide his or her complete name, personal information and place of living and the same should be registered at the nearest police station.

The owners of hotels, restaurants and inns have also been asked to take details and check identity cards of visitors. They have been asked to maintain a register having the requisite record of the visitors.

Under the Punjab Village and Small Town Patrol Act, able people in villages and nearby areas have been asked to hold 'theekri pehras' (night vigil) to ensure that none of the water resources have damaged banks which could cause flooding.

The ADC has also put a ban on playing of vulgar songs in buses.

He said if such songs were found to played in a bus, action would be taken against the bus driver and the conductor under Section 188 of the IPC. The orders are applicable in the city from June 24 to August 23.

Other orders The owners of hotels, restaurants and inns have been asked to maintain a register to keep requisite record of the visitors. Playing of vulgar songs in buses has been prohibited. In case of violation, action will be taken against the bus driver and the conductor concerned under Section 188 of the IPC. Under the Punjab Village and Small Town Patrol Act, able people in villages and nearby areas have been asked to keep night vigil.

Bathinda, June 26
The Association of Indian Universities has approved participation of Guru Kashi University (GKU) students in national-level sporting events. University director (sports) and former Olympian Dr Tirlok Singh Sandhu said with this membership, students of the university will be able to explore their sporting abilities and potential in North zone and national-level tournaments.

He said the move would also help in providing national-level grounds and tracks to university students, an exercise which is a perquisite of the Association of Indian Universities, Delhi.

GKU Vice Chancellor SK Ahluwalia said the approval would pave way for developing sports culture among the students in the region leading to a drug-free society.

Guru Kashi University chairman Gurlabh Singh Sidhu congratulated the staff and students who were associated with this project.

Dr Tirlok Singh Sandhu said from students would now be able to participate in the all India inter-university competitions directly.

Bathinda, June 26
The much talked-about live performance by singer-turned-actor Diljit Dosanjh and his co-star of the film 'Jatt & Juliet 2' Neeru Bajwa proved to be a dampener for the the high spirits of the people who had gathered to watch the show organised by the Aryans Group of Colleges in the city on Tuesday.

The event was scheduled to start at 6 pm and nearly 3,000-4,000 passes had been distributed for free across the city. Till 8.30 pm, the 500-strong crowd, which was waiting for Diljit and Neeru to perform, had to settle with the performances by upcoming singers, who rendered their own songs and asked the gathering to buy their albums.

Ironically, the songs sung by these singers had nothing to do with 'sabhyachar' (culture), as the name of the show suggested. While one singer sang about how he still remembers the classroom where he used to meet his love interest the other singer compared the posture of his love interest to that of Hollywood actor Angelina Jolie.

Diljit and Neeru, who finally arrived after 8.30 pm, were welcomed with a loud cheer by the crowd. Neeru, who had addressed a press conference earlier during the day in a no-makeup de-glam avatar, had dressed in Punjabi attire for the live show.

After addressing the crowd and asking them to watch the film, Diljit finally got down to singing songs. His performance was not what the crowd was waiting for. He started off with singing a song 'Jehda dhakke chaddh gaya yaaran de, Punjab police sardaaran de' from his upcoming film 'Jatt & Juliet 2' and followed it up with two more songs.

Neeru Bajwa gave him company on the stage before bidding goodbye to the audience, which had been waiting for them since evening.

Bathinda, June 26
A seven-month-old infant was killed in an accident at New Shivaji Colony in the Bathinda cantonment. In his complaint lodged with the police, Gunjal Vilas, posted with the signal unit, stated that Naik Vinod Kumar hit him with his motorcycle.